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In my renewed efforts to be a good netizen (Internet + citizen = huh huh, get it? sorry, dumb things amuse me), I’ve been checking out the blogs of those kind souls who either “like” one of my blog posts or, gloriousness of gloriousnesses, decide to follow my blog. I ran across this fascinating piece by sarah on the go! about the 101 Things in 1,001 Days phenomenon (hereafter known as the 101 List).

I’m a pretty life-long lister, though the advent of the smartphone has curtailed this dramatically. In the old days, I carried a paper calendar (what?!?! yes, paper) which was filled with doodles and appointments and to-do’s that I then dutifully carried out and crossed off. It was an idyllic time when you could look at two largish pages of paper and see your whole week. Now I’m scrolling endlessly on my iPhone screen, trying to see what I have going on on what day.

But back to the 101 List…this seems to be a pretty nifty little thing/community/time suck/planner. The idea, for those old farts out there like myself who hadn’t heard of the dang thing until Monday, is that you create an account (I know! Another user name! Another password!) and get list-happy, either picking things others have already picked or making up your own list of 101 things you’d like to accomplish in 1,001 days.

As creator Michael Green and the people behind the accompanying website, dayzeroproject.com, explain, 1,001 days is just under 3 years, longer than the normal resolution year but not too long, giving you more time to plan and organize how you would go about achieving your 101 things. This makes total sense to me. I also like the added factor of having a public place to share your list, thereby enlisting peer interest and peer pressure to actually accomplish some if not all of these things.

i wanna be this lady, Sarah McNally of MCNALLY + JACKSON BOOKS

Two other things are helping push me into “future planning”: attending my 20th High School Reunion (what?!?!?) this past weekend, and watching a mini-feature on the Today Show about entrepreneurial moms. The reunion was amazing, so fun and really eye-opening. I felt like my classmates had done so much professionally, whereas I still feel like I’m plugging along as a entry-level manager in the job industry I fell into after grad school. I’m not saying that these people seemed thoroughly satisfied in and fulfilled by their careers, but (for the most part) they were the heads of companies or runners of their divisions/departments/regions.

The Today Show segment featured Donnie Deutsch, that over-tan advertising and marketing guru, who struck me by saying that you just have to go out and do the thing you’re passionate about, whether it’s making dolls or watchstraps or what have you. He said (and I’m paraphrasing here) that it’s not brain surgery, you just have to get out there, and we’d be surprised to learn how many millionaires he meets that just aren’t that smart. What they did have was tenaciousness and an idea of how to make something better.

So I’ll be working on my 101 List over the next few weeks, adding to the list I already scribbled down that night before bed. On that List, along with the typical travel and health goals, is my dream…I mean D R E A M: to own a bookstore some day.

I know, it probably sounds a little lame and you’re already shaking your head that paper (and reading for that matter) is soooo overrated and going the way of the dodo. But some of my happiest memories are of reading and of perusing the bookshelves of my local bookstore. I have been lost…yes, lost…in those aisles (hello, Strand Bookstore, I’m talking about you). I can’t think of a better place to work, especially if it’s a place I own, in which I call the shots.

So that’s my D R E A M. Don’t poop on my parade and I won’t poop on yours.